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Heroes costars Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia had a two-year romance at the height of their NBC show’s success.
A 12-year age gap between the two raised eyebrows at the time, as Panettiere was 18 years old and Ventimiglia was 30 when they got together. (Panettiere played superpowered cheerleader Claire Bennet on Heroes while Ventimiglia portrayed hospice care nurse Peter Petrelli.)
Looking back at the relationship for an Us Weekly cover story in May 2026, Panettiere confirmed that she was hopeful of marrying Ventimiglia back then.
“I saw him as my partner and that it was going to hopefully keep going and evolving and lead to marriage,” she told Us.
Following a tumultuous breakup in 2009, Ventimiglia said that the relationship taught him it was best not to date costars. (He married model Jarah Mariano in 2023, and they share two children.)
Panettiere died at age 36 in August 2026. She shared daughter Kaya with ex Wladimir Klitschko.
Keep scrolling for the full timeline of Panettiere and Ventimiglia’s relationship.
Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia Went Public in 2007
While they’d attended public events together — such as Comic-Con — to promote Heroes, Panettiere made an early red carpet appearance with Ventimiglia when she accompanied him to the premiere of his short film anthology It’s a Mall World.
Ventimiglia had his arm around Panettiere’s back as they smiled for photographers outside the ArcLight Theatre in Hollywood on July 31, 2007.
Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panetierre in July 2007 in Hollywood, California. Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Panettiere was once again Ventimiglia’s date at the Race to Fight Epilepsy charity event at the Skirball Centre in Los Angeles in November 2007.
Hayden Panettiere Addressed Dating Milo Ventimiglia in 2008
During an interview with People, Panettiere coyly addressed dating Ventimiglia without directly naming him. She suggested “little things are what counts” in their relationship before revealing one of his sweet romantic gestures.
“One time, a boyfriend went out of town, and he left notes all over the house in places he knew I’d find them,” she revealed.
Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia Split in 2009
Us Weekly reported in February 2009 that Panettiere and Ventimiglia had gone their separate ways after nearly two years of dating.
A source exclusively told Us that there was a “lifestyle conflict” because Panettiere and Ventimiglia were “in very different places” in both their lives and careers.
Hayden Panettiere Broke Her Silence on Splitting From Milo Ventimiglia in 2009
Panettiere addressed her then-recent breakup from Ventimiglia in a Seventeen magazine interview in August 2009, saying that she was leaning in to her feelings of “heartbreak.”
Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere in July 2007. Mark Davis/Getty Images
“My instinct when I go through heartbreak or a bad situation is to talk about it,” she said. “But that’s me; that’s not everybody. A lot of people, you know, their instinct is to bury it and distract themselves from it.”
Milo Ventimiglia Vowed to Never Date Another Costar
In September 2017, Ventimiglia admitted to The Journal that the lesson he’d learned from dating former Panettiere and Gilmore Girls costar Alexis Bledel was to “never do it again.”
“There are things that happen to you in your life that shape who you are. Everything I’ve been through from jobs to friendships to partnerships, everything has built me to who I am. You learn from it,” he said. “You learn a better way of doing things. It wasn’t until my mid to late twenties that the job wears on you, relationships wear on you.”
Hayden Panettiere Said She Had ‘Great Relationships’ With Her Exes
The Nashville star reflected on her high-profile relationships in a May 2013 Glamour interview without directly mentioning Ventimiglia. (Panettiere also dated Laguna Beach’s Stephen Colletti and shares daughter Kaya with retired boxer Wladimir Klitschko.)
“I’ve always had great relationships and stayed really good friends with the guys I’ve dated,” she insisted.
Hayden Panettiere Addressed Her Age Gap With Milo Ventimiglia
In a May 2026 Us Weekly cover story, Panettiere reflected on investing so much into her relationship with Ventimiglia back in the day.
“Every relationship I’ve ever been in, I invested my whole self in,” the Scream alum told Us.
She went on, “It was a point of contention that I was unable to put the ‘I’ in front of ‘love you’ and at the time, I didn’t realize or understand why it made me feel so uncomfortable. I could only say ‘love you’ in a casual way. Being older, he was much more aware of what that meant. And that said a lot.”
Ventimiglia allegedly broke up with Panettiere and then immediately took her back when she burst into tears. They split for good in February 2009.
Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere pose with the Stanley Cup. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for The NHL
“One hundred percent [the reason he took me back] was only because I was over the toilet, hysterically crying. It was like my world had crumbled,” she remembered. “It was so out of left field, nothing that big or explosive had happened. Nothing had really gone wrong. Nobody cheated. I remember the look on his face being pure shock at how visceral and massive my negative reaction was, and he immediately took it back.”
Panettiere writes more about her relationships in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, out May 19.
